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Editorial
Catch that comet
Sue Bowler,
Editor
Determined
– and lucky
– observers
were able
to catch a
glimpse
of Comet
C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)
this spring, but it was not a
show-stopping object. Next
winter there may be a much
more impressive sight: Comet
C/2012 S1 (ISON). Comet ISON
has all the characteristics
of a spectacular naked-eye
comet – at the moment. The
thought of winter skies lit up
by something as spectacular
as, say, Hale-Bopp is very
enticing, but we don’t really
know enough about this comet
and comets in general to be
able to say with confidence that
ISON will put on a good show.
And predictions about comets
have proved misleading before:
Comet Kahoutek, appearing in
our skies in 1973/74, was widely
heralded as an impressive
sight, yet in the event it was
considered disappointing,
not least because of the big
build-up. As a consequence,
astronomers writing about ISON
are noticeably wary, projecting
an air of caution amid the
excitement.
Perhaps we’re missing a
trick here. Instead of keeping
quiet about how little we know
about comets and crossing our
fingers, we should be shouting
about it. Seeing a comet in
the sky is a reminder of how
mysterious and wonderful
the universe is. The science of
comets is just as exciting. We
think of them as dirty snowballs
– or snowy dirtballs – but we
don’t know a lot about them, as
individuals or as a group. They
come from the dawn of the solar
system, they shape our ideas
of how planetary systems form
and when they come close to
Earth we can discover more
about them. That’s the big story
about Comet ISON: it may or
may not be a spectacular sight
in our skies, but it certainly will
tell us something new about our
planetary system.
[email protected]
3.4
Willets opens SKA’s international HQ
On 7 May, UK Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts
opened the SKA Organisation
headquarters, home to the team
managing the construction,
design and scientific output of this
groundbreaking telescope.
The SKA will use thousands of
receivers and innovative software
to make a radio telescope over
50 times more sensitive than any
existing radio telescope on Earth,
surpassing even the resolution of
the Hubble Space Telescope. While
the two arrays of receivers for
the SKA will be in Australia and
South Africa, the hub of the huge
international project will be within
sight of the Lovell Telescope at the
University of Manchester’s Jodrell
Bank Observatory.
“The Square Kilometre Array is set
to be one of the world’s most exciting
international science projects, giving
us new and unparalleled insights
into the universe,” said Willetts,
who unveiled a commemorative
plaque. “The fact that the UK has
been chosen to host the project
office is recognition of our leading
expertise in science, engineering and
design. It will give us a leading role
in the development and operation of
this ground-breaking telescope.”
The SKA building, funded at a
cost of £3.34m by the University
of Manchester, will eventually be
The Lovell Telescope looms over the SKA HQ. (SKA, R Millenaar [ASTRON/SKA])
home to upwards of 60 members of
staff, including visiting scientists and
engineers, and has been built with
the environment in mind.
SKA Director General Philip
Diamond said: “This wonderful
new office, which offers our team
stunning views of the Jodrell Bank
site, including the famous Lovell
Telescope, will we hope inspire
everyone who works here, and will
provide our guests and visiting
scientists with a truly unique
scientific facility in which to conduct
their research and work. The limited
environmental impact and energyefficiency goals we set with the
construction of the project office are
also in line with our long-term aims
for the entire SKA project.”
With so much being learnt from
the pathfinders and precursor telescopes, the SKA project is now
entering a hugely exciting phase.
Research organizations around the
world along with leading industrial
partners have recently been invited
to collaborate and submit proposals
on the R&D and design of the telescopes and instrumentation which
will become the heart of this epic
endeavour. This first round of proposals is expected to be evaluated
and assessed at the new SKA offices
in July of this year.
http://www.skatelescope.org
UKSA and NASA explore together Signs of cluster
Collaboration has been agreed STEREO. This agreement cements planets?
between the UK Space Agency and an especially strong link for three
NASA on forthcoming missions to
explore the Sun and its effect on
our planet, and the deep interior
of Mars. It is intended that a strong
relationship between UKSA and
NASA will give an extra boost to
the thriving UK space industry.
“Space is big business for both
the UK and global economies and
an increasingly integral part of
our lives,” said Dr David Parker,
Chief Executive of the UK Space
Agency. “If we want to continue this
success and push the boundaries
of exploration, we must continue
to foster the industry’s growth
through strategic investment and
close partnership with other spacefaring nations.” Mason Peck, Chief
Technologist at NASA, agreed: “I’m
delighted I have the opportunity to
see first hand the good work UK
space companies are doing, and
to continue building this strong
partnership.”
UK scientists have a long tradition
of leadership in international projects
such as Cassini-Huygens, Swift and
forthcoming projects: Sunjammer,
Insight and Solar Orbiter.
Sunjammer, to be launched next
year, is a technology demonstration
mission deploying the largest solar
sail ever built. UK scientists at Imperial College London and Mullard
Space Science Laboratory are developing the mission’s magnetometer,
MAGIC, and wind analyser, SWAN.
The mission will use new technology
to monitor the potential effects of
space weather on our life and society.
Solar Orbiter, for launch in 2017,
is a European mission that will
travel closer to the Sun that any
other mission. NASA will provide
an instrument for the UK-led Solar
Wind Analyzer suite of instruments,
a package led by MSSL.
Insight will carry the seismology
package SEIS-SP, provided by
Imperial College London and the
University of Oxford, to Mars, to
map its deep interior and shine light
on how terrestrial planets form and
evolve. Insight will launch in 2016.
The atmospheres of two white
dwarf stars in a nearby star cluster
show the chemical signatures of
rocky material, suggesting that
these may be fruitful environments
in which to seek Earth-like planets.
Jay Farihi of the University of
Cambridge and an international
team used Hubble Space Telescope
data from the Cosmic Origins
Spectrograph to identify silicon
and low levels of carbon in the
atmsopheres of two white dwarfs.
These are thought to be “pollution”
from asteroids falling into the stars
and the reasoning is that in systems
where asteroids form, rocky planets
are also likely. The silicon:carbon
ratio they found is also Earth-like.
Although all stars probably formed
in clusters, just four known exoplanets orbit cluster stars; outbursts from
these young stars may make any
planets harder to find. The team targeted old cluster stars instead, publishing the work in Monthly Notices
of the RAS.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency
http://bit.ly/YJCkCm
A&G • June 2013 • Vol. 54